60 Minutes May 1

We all know what it’s like to have a bad night’s sleep, tossing and turning for hours and facing the next day tired and cranky. Well imagine the nightmare of waking up but never getting back to sleep ever again. That’s the cruel reality for a handful of families throughout the world. Fatal Familial Insomnia is an extremely rare and debilitating brain disease with no treatment and no cure. It steals your sleep, your mind, your motor skills and ultimately your life. For Queensland brother and sister, Hayley and Lachlan Webb, this terrifying disease could strike at any time – a family curse that they are determined to break.

Reporter: Karl Stefanovic

Producers: Ali Smith, Jo Townsend

BLASPHEMY ON BROADWAY

Matt Stone and Trey Parker have made a fortune out of offending everyone. For nearly two decades this wicked comedy duo has been writing and voicing the controversial cartoon South Park. Along the way they’ve poked fun at just about every celebrity and minority there is. Their latest comedic assault is on stage – a highly successful Broadway show called The Book of Mormon, which, as the name suggests, has the Mormon religion well and truly in its sights. Like everything Matt and Trey do, nothing and no-one is off limits.

This duo has made a career out of offending people…so consider yourself warned.

Reporter: Michael Usher

Producer: Phil Goyen

BONOBO BUSINESS

Of all the animals on earth, the bonobo is one of our closest genetic relatives. No wonder then, they could teach us humans a thing or two. Closely related to the chimpanzee, the bonobo is the rarest and most intelligent of the great apes, a peace loving primate a million miles from its violent chimp cousin. Bonobos are caring and compassionate – females rule the roost, aggression is rare and life involves plenty of fun and copious amounts of sex. But as you’ll see in our report, the bonobo lives in only one place in the world – the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa – which is why it’s the least understood ape on the planet.

Reporter: Anderson Cooper

Producers: Michael Gavshon, David M. Levine

A NEW CHAPTER

The mental and physical challenges have been immense, but 18 months on from the shark attack that took his left arm, right hand and very nearly his life, Sean Pollard is showing us all the meaning of the word inspiration. Sean was savagely mauled by, not one, but two great white sharks as he surfed on a remote beach at Esperance in Western Australia. We first met him soon after the attack, as he set out on the long road to reclaim his life. Now, with a new bionic hand, Sean is making remarkable progress and in the process he is proving to us all that anything is possible.